1. Field of Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus employing a charging device having a brush roller to uniformly charge a surface of a latent image carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a related art image forming apparatus has employed a non-contact charging device including a scorotron charger to charge a surface of a latent image carrier (referred to as a photoconductor) without contacting the photoconductor surface. However, the non-contact charging device generates a discharge product such as an ozone and/or a nitrogen oxide (NOx). A contact charging device, on the other hand, charges the photoconductor surface by contacting the photoconductor surface while reducing an occurrence of generating the discharge product. Accordingly, the contact charging device has had increased attention.
The contact charging device includes contact charging members, for example, a charging roller, a charging film, and a charging brush. The charging roller may have a flat surface, and the charging brush may be fixed or rotatable. The contact charging members have been known to execute a charging process by abutting on the photoconductor surface. When the contact charging device is employed, the photoconductor surface may have a substance, for example, a toner, adhered thereon. This substance may adhere to the contact charging members. Thereby, the contact charging device may have a reduced charging capability over time caused by the substance.
One example uses a rotatable charging brush for the contact charging device. By using the rotatable charging brush, a likelihood of reduced charging capability may be lower compared to other contact charging members such as the charging roller and the charging film.